Labor Day Weekend

Scot and I kicked off our Labor Day Weekend festivities by getting everything that we needed to off of our lists. Meaning we are ready set go for when Brynley decides to get here. The house is clean, everything organized, clothes are all folded and pack and play is ready. Suitcase is packed and double checked and we have absolutely everything we need both for her when she gets here, and things for us so we don't have to make a million trips to the store. Meals are frozen and ready. Tucker is bathed and I feel like now we can enjoy the weekend and are ready for Brynley whenever she decides to come.  To celebrate Ryder's very last day of school, after picking him up that afternoon we took Ryder to Target and let him pick out a special toy. He looked at all the aisles and decided on this John Deere tractor and 4 wheeler and wouldn't put it down. He loves trains and lately monster trucks, so I was a little surprised that this was his choice, but he loves it and has played with it since! We also did all of our big Target list and I was able to use the giftcards I had received at my baby shower at work. It made the grand total a little less jarring! We spent a lot but now we have all of the paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, wipes, and toiletries that one could ever need! Afterwards we got pizza and headed home to celebrate and start the weekend.

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about the upcoming delivery of Brynley. With Ryder I knew right away that I wanted to be induced and given an epidural. It was the right choice, seeing as how he was my first baby and I knew he wouldn't be coming anytime soon. I wasn't having any prelabor symptoms and I was having a lot of back pain and was just plain miserable, so at my 40 week appointment my OB gave us the green light to book a room in the hospital that night to be induced. After last weekend, I started second guessing my decision to be induced this time around, even though we have a date set for September 13th. I have been doing a lot of thinking, considering doing things differently this time, and letting Brynley come in God's perfect timing. The stress of having to return to work isn't present, and I am just feeling better now that I have had a few days to rest. I had already been tossing these ideas around, when my sister in law mentioned I watch the Rikki Lake documentary The Business of Being Born.

I mentioned this to my midwife at my appointment Friday morning and she recommended we watch it just to give us an idea of things, as I was now considering a change of plan. She even told us it was one of the homework assignments they give their patients who want to deliver at the birthing center. Scot actually watched it with me, and it has opened my eyes to so many things. I am by no means a granola hippie, but after watching this made me realize that I am a strong woman and I do want to reconsider being induced and letting things progress more naturally this time. I don't want a water birth and I don't neccessarily want to feel every single contraction, but I do want to hold off on drugs as long as I can. I want to bond right away with my baby, rather than feeling a little disoriented and still on my epidural high like I did with Ryder. As this is my last pregnancy, I want to experience things in a way that I didn't with Ryder's birth. Have any of you watched this? Thoughts on all of this?? I haven't made a complete decision, but will feel more assured at my next OB appointment this coming week.

 On Saturday, I had a Babies R Us giftcard to use, so after we got a few last things for Brynley, we took Ryder to the arcade at the mall. This is something he and Scot have recently started to do, to give them a little "guy time", so I was happy to have the chance to go with them this time. Right away Ryder wanted to sit in the driver's seat of the race car, "Baby" in tow of course!

 Next it was skeeball! I watched as Scot showed Ryder the ropes on how to throw the ball just right.

 Before we knew it, Ryder got the hang of it. He was so cute playing at the arcade with his Daddy, and as I watched him, I realized just how BIG Ryder is starting to be. It's as if he's turned into a boy before our eyes, no longer a chubby faced baby anymore. This makes my heart smile at how much fun he and his Daddy had and I love that they have trips to the arcade just the two of them. It is a special bond between them and I can't wait for my baby girl to get here so that one day we too can have "girl time" together like the boys!

 Showing off his tickets he won!

 Scot and Ryder had so much fun, and next it was time to drive another racecar, this time with Daddy as the driver. They played a few more games and then it was time to redeem their tickets. Ryder left with what other than Bottlecaps candy.

A man. His boy. And the boy's stuffed penguin, "Baby". Does life get much better than this ha!

Afterwards, we stopped at a cute sewing store on our way home from the mall. I have really taken an interest in sewing lately and have already added so many tutorials that I want to try making to my "favorites" list on the computer. But with any new hobby, first I need to learn how to sew. Before investing in an expensive sewing and embroidery machine, I want to take a few classes to get the basics down and then once I feel comfortable, I want to buy the machine that will best suit what I am wanting to do with it. I really don't have a desire to quilt, but I want to learn monogramming and embroidering so that I can do all of Ryder and Brynley's cute clothes and not spend a fortune on Etsy like I have in the past. I got a lot of great information from the ladies in the sewing store, and can't wait to take a few classes in the coming months.

The rest of the weekend we actually had a case of flu-like symptoms, so while Scot and I tried resting up for most of the day on Sunday, my mom and stepdad offered to take Ryder to their house to play. Have I mentioned before how much I love having my parents close by?? It was a low key weekend, which are actually sometimes the best kind! I got to work on some activities to do with Ryder as I start my very first day of my new job as Stay at Home Mom. I can't wait for this new chapter to begin!

What did you do this Labor Day Weekend??